Photo by John Rieger/USA TODAY Sports

By SKYLAR ROLSTAD

Dom Dwyer and Ricardo Clark both scored goals off corner kicks for a 1-1 deadlock between Sporting KC and the Houston Dynamo Saturday night in Kansas City, but a controversial decision in the 94th minute left Sporting feeling like one point was not enough.

The controversy stemmed from Dynamo midfielder Luis Garrido’s outstretched arm inside the 18-yard box with the ball flying past him. It appeared as though Garrido’s arm knocked the ball down, but center referee Jorge Gonzalez ruled that Garrido did not touch the ball with his arm.

“I was sixty yards away, and I saw clean it was a handball,” Sporting coach Peter Vermes said after the game. “I have no understanding of how you miss that call.”

Dynamo coach Owen Coyle made little mention of the incident in his post-match comments but said the call could have gone either way.

Referee Jorge Gonzalez, however, did not keep a consistent record of why he decided not to make the call. Continue reading »

photo by Greg M. Cooper/USA Today Sports

Jozy Altidore was issued a red card while playing for the U.S. Men’s National Team earlier this year for berating an official.

He was sent off again on Saturday. This time with Toronto FC. This time for a different reason.

Altidore was ejected in the 39th minute of Toronto FC’s 3-1 road defeat to the New England Revolution for kicking out at centerback Jose Goncalves. The 25-year-old forward was jostling for position with Goncalves, but appeared displeased with the physical marking and frustratingly kicked out at the Revolution defender before receiving his marching orders from referee Chris Penso.

The red card came four minutes after New England had taken the lead, and severely handicapped Toronto’s chances at pulling off a comeback. TFC fell behind, 3-0, before pulling one back late.

The ejection, which comes a couple weeks after he was dropped from the U.S. during the CONCACAF Gold Cup, is also Altidore’s second this year. He was sent for an early shower back in March when the U.S. played Switzerland in a friendly. That was his first ejection at the international level. Altidore had previously seen red at AZ Alkmaar and Hull City, but not during his two MLS tenures until Saturday.

The start of the 2015-16 English Premier League season is just around the corner, but two heavyweights will try to grab some silverware Sunday.

Chelsea and Arsenal meet in the Community Shield (10 a.m., Fox Sports 1), which is a match that pits the 2014-15 league winner against the FA Cup champion. With both sides wanting to start off their respective campaigns on the right foot, head coach Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger will want nothing less than a result against their London rival.

A Canadian derby highlights Sunday’s NASL action, as Ottawa Fury FC and FC Edmonton square off in a battle of the top two teams in the Fall Season (4 p.m., ESPN 3).

Meanwhile, the San Jose Earthquakes will try to upend the Portland Timbers (5 p.m., ESPN 2), who have won the last three contests between the two Western Conference foes.

If you will be watching today’s action, feel free to leave your thoughts, opinions, and some play-by-play in the comments section below.

This surely was not the way Ventura Alvarado envisioned his new season starting.

Club America dropped to 0-2 in the Liga MX Apertura campaign by suffering a 3-1 home loss to Atlas on Saturday, and it was Alvarado who played a major role in determining the outcome at Estadio Azteca.

Alvarado first broke a 1-1 stalemate with an ugly own goal that proved to be decisive a minute into the second half. After a low cross from the right came into the penalty area, the 22-year-old centerback attempted to trap the ball instead of clear it and wound up bundling it into his own net in awkward motion.

He also whiffed badly on a clearance in the 92nd minute to kill any chance of picking up a result. Alvarado allowed a cross to ricochet off of him before falling into the path of Franco Arizala, who clinically put the game to bed with a solid finish.

The start was the first in the new season for Alvarado, who just returned this week from playing for the U.S. Men’s National Team at the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Alvarado was a regular starter for the Americans in that tournament, but also had several hiccups that led to goals and constant criticism from fans and media.

You can see all of the highlights and lowlights of Atlas’ 3-1 win over Club America below:

Photo by Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports

By MIKE GRAMAJO

ORLANDO, Fla. — When Cyle Larin bagged his brace in the 54th minute during Orlando City’s 5-2 thrashing of the Columbus Crew, it not only tied the forward for most goals scored by a rookie in a single MLS season with 11 goals, but also set a benchmark in the club’s short history in the league.

With 11 goals to his name this season, the Canadian international also became the club’s all-time leading goalscorer in Major League Soccer, and it drew plenty of praise from Orlando City boss Adrian Heath.

“We all know how important goals are, and I think we have somebody that’s on a hot streak,” Heath said on Larin’s rookie season. “His confident is up, and I told him ‘I thought you worked really hard tonight’ and I’m a big believer in you get out of football in what you put in.

“He has all the tools to be a top-line striker. People don’t realize how strong and how quick he is, we do because see it every day, and if he keeps working, and God willing, he keeps injury free, he has a bright future.” Continue reading »

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By AARON CRANFORD

For the first time since Aug. 20, 2014, the LA Galaxy claimed a win away from the StubHub Center, and in both cases, the Colorado Rapids were on the unfortunate side of history.

The Galaxy’s common contributors in 2015 were the ones who found the back of the net Saturday, as Sebastian Lletget, Robbie Keane and Alan Gordan handed the Rapids their first loss since June 27. With the 3-1 victory the Galaxy have won five out of their last seven matches.

In order to finally break the road curse, the Galaxy needed to show a bit of anger and emotion, and star Steven Gerrard was the figure to become fiery, as he and former Galaxy midfielder Marcelo Sarvas were involved in a heated exchange minutes before Keane’s stoppage-time dagger. Continue reading »

Photo by John Rieger/USA TODAY Sports

By SKYLAR ROLSTAD

A heavily physical encounter between the newest additions to the Western Conference saw both sides share a point Saturday.

Rivals Sporting Kansas City and Houston Dynamo fought it out in a 1-1 draw, with goals at each end of the match’s duration. Dom Dwyer and Ricardo Clark both scored set piece goals, and yet again, Benny Feilhaber assisted the Sporting KC corner-kick goal, which Dwyer headed in from eight yards away in the 6th minute.

On the same end of the field, Clark also sent a header from short-range into the net in the 78th minute. Brad Davis assisted Clark from the corner flag.

Sporting KC midfielder Krisztian Nemeth thought he had the winner late in the match, but he was rightfully waved offside. SKC also may have had a chance to win a penalty in stoppage time, but the referee ruled that the ball did not touch Luis Garrido’s outstretched arm. Continue reading »

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By RYAN TOLMICH

NEW YORK – While the off-the-field headlines generated by the signing of Didier Drogba proved to be a major win for the club, Saturday’s on-the-field performance by the Montreal Impact proved to be the week’s most impressive achievement.

Visiting Yankee Stadium, the Impact bested the New York City FC backline time and time again, earning a hard-fought 3-2 road win to pick up the team’s third victory in four games.

The win, which gives the Impact 27 points through 19 games, was just the team’s second road win of the season and eighth in the franchise’s three-and-a-half year MLS history.

Led by the performances of Dominic Oduro and Ignacio Piatti, the Impact displayed a bit of swagger in picking apart NYCFC’s defense, continuously pinging passes up and over opposing backline to create chance after chance.

Oduro, who provided the game’s opener, said that was all part of the plan, as the Impact were fully prepared to exploit space left unoccupied by NYCFC’s less-pacey defense. For the Imapct, it was all about execution, something made all the easier by the confidence generated in recent weeks.

“I think Didier coming in put a little spark into the team,” Oduro said. “Everybody is excited. The city of Montreal is excited. Coming here, we came with great confidence and I think him coming to join the team, it will be a great push. We’re confident going into our next game. We have a couple of games coming up and hopefully we can get points. Continue reading »